Big Noses, Exploding Eggs and a Blood-thirsty Samurai Ghost: My First Week in Hiroshima

"You have a very big nose" Yumi-san said. The other workers nodded enthusiastically. Not sure what to make of this, I gave a bemused smile. 

       "Uhm, is that good?"

       "Yes! It's very beautiful!" the other office workers cooed in agreement. 

       "You have 7 heads" she then said frankly. 

Now I was starting to get worried. Sensing my confusion, she reassured me: "Just like a model!" 

I've never seen a model in Japan, but surely they don't have multiple heads... 

       "I only have 4!" Yumi-san said, laughing as she gestured to the ratio of the size of her head to her body. 

Thankfully, my first day at the hospital wasn't filled with any other mind-boggling conversations like this. 

Yoshimura-san asked me to check an introduction she had written for me (sort of like a poster detailing who I was, facts about London and what I'm going to be doing in the hospital. My picture was also printed on it). We then went to all of the offices, where she would introduce me, hand over a copy of my introduction and I then had to introduce myself. At one point, one of the office/department heads decided to try and use his English on me. He asked "How is your body?" (O_o) I assumed he was trying to say 'How are you?'

That afternoon, I helped take down the Hina-matsuri display. Hina-matsuri (Girl's Day) is a festival that takes place on 3rd March and it is celebrated by making a display of an Emperor, Empress and court attendants from the Heian period (9th-13th centuries). 

I didn't get to take any pictures, but this is one I found on the internet.

On Tuesday, I went to the nearby YWCA (Young Woman's Christian Association) building to meet Hirata-sensei, who is going to give me five hours of Japanese lessons every week day until early April, when I begin volunteering in the hospital. 

The lessons are really just long conversations. Apparently she's fluent in English, but she pretends to not understand things I say in English (when it's too hard to say it in Japanese), so I have to keep trying in Japanese. It's really hard sometimes! Although, my Japanese has improved a lot because of it. 

She's a very kind woman, and she always brings out a tray of green tea and rice crackers at three o'clock. The caffeine is a real life saver...

On Thursday, Ueuchi-san took me out to eat Oden. It's a type of boiled food that is eaten in winter; it looks grey and unappetising, but it was delicious. He was adamant that I try everything, so I was stuffed by the time we came out. 

There's a big metal container with all the food boiling away; ranging from cocktail sausages  to quail egg and tofu.

On the nights when I wasn't being taken out to restaurants, I had to somehow feed myself using a microwave and a toaster. It was not going well. Most nights I would just buy a bento from my local supermarket and then heat it up in the microwave, but one night I decided to be adventurous. I decided to boil an egg...

I went to the internet for help. That cornucopia of knowledge. One of mankind's finest achievements. 

When the egg exploded in the microwave with a deafening bang, smashing a glass and covering the insides with warm, gooey egg, I realised that I should never have trusted WikiHow. 

I was relieved when, on Friday, I was told I could use the kitchen on the fourth floor; I wouldn't have to risk my life experimenting with a microwave for 6 months!

There isn't an oven or gas hobs, just some weird electric plates that only heat up when there's a pan on them (and they heat up pretty much instantly, it's weird).

I have the whole kitchen and adjoining tatami room all to myself! Although this has proven quite bad for my mental health. There's an identicle kitchen on the other side of the room which can only be lit up with the switches on the far end (there's actually an identicle kitchen down there). Since I have dinner when it's already dark outside, it means the far half of the room is in darkness, and I sometimes hear things shifting down there (there's a lot of old boxes filled with things). This has led me to become paranoid that there's an evil, Japanese samurai ghost living down there, and it doesn't like me intruding on its lair. Therefore, when I'm eating, I always have to face that end of the room. Just so it can't sneak up on me and do any ghost-trickery...

I took this picture the only time I went down there to turn all the lights on.

On the Friday night I made Oyakodon (chicken and egg rice bowl) using a recipe my Japanese friend in London helped me with.

I also made ramen the following night. Well, I used instant ramen and added some things on top...shhh...

My next post will be coming soon(ish). Read it to find out how to accidentally climb a mountain!

First Weekend in Hiroshima: Atomic Memorials, Okonomiyaki and a £1.50 Apple

It took all my willpower to drag myself out of bed on my first Saturday in Hiroshima. Jet-lagged and unsure what to do first, I decided a stroll along one of Hiroshima's many wide boulevards was in order. It was sweltering, but that didn't deter me!

I was surprised by how many trees there were. 

Unlike most Japanese cities, Hiroshima doesn't have an underground system. All of the rivers would have made it too expensive, so they built tram lines instead. They imported trams from across Japan and Europe. There are even two trams still running that survived the atomic bombing. 

Hiroshima is built on a delta, so it has many bridges and rivers running through it. 

I walked to Fukuya, a large department store above Hiroshima Station, and bought lunch: sushi, peach juice and a ￥199 (£1.40) apple. Yes, £1.40...

Fruit is very expensive in Japan (probably because there's so little space to grow it?). It's common to find a melon costing £40 (and above) in a supermarket. But everything is exactly the same size. There's something kind of eerie about walking past row upon row of identical strawberries...

Delicious sushi bento

                            

They double bagged it...with air...

This is what a £1.40 apple looks like. It was huge, and very sweet. I've noticed Japanese people like sweet things a lot.

Just before I left, I took a few pictures of the signs they had on a wall of the food court.

So do I...

We sure are...

Oh, you shouldn't have...

They seem to like putting random English captions and phrases (that make no sense or are just strange) in adverts and on packaging.

The next day, I went with Ueuchi-san to the Hiroshima Peace Park. He met me outside my accommodation, but he seemed to find my summer clothes quite amusing. It was so hot on Friday and Saturday, I was sure Sunday would be the same.

I was very wrong.

A sand storm from China came rolling in on that day. The temperature dropped by about 10 degrees, so I was freezing later on. 

We went to the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum; it was a harrowing experience. People's suffering was described in such horrible detail, there were models of people with their flesh melting off their bones. I actually had to turn my audio guide off at one point because it was just too much for me.

I would recommend going here to anyone who visits Hiroshima. Just make sure you do something afterwards to help you get back to normal. Ueuchi-san insisted on taking pictures on me in front of various memorials afterwards. I just managed a semblance of a smile. 

This is the Atomic Dome. It was the closest building to the epicentre to not be completley destroyed  by the bomb. It now acts as a stark reminder as to what once happened here.

                         

We went to an Okonomiyaki restaurant afterwards (Ueuchi-san assures me it's the best one in Hiroshima) to sample the local specialty. 

Okonomiyaki is a sort of savoury pancake which contains many ingredients (including cabbage and noodles), which differ depending on the region. Hiroshima style includes cabbage and noodles, which are layered on top of each other (as opposed to mix together, which is done in Osaka).

The end result is a delicious, almost creamy, tangle of noodles and thin strips of pork. Tangy okonomiyaki sauce, mayonnaise and green nori (seaweed) powder are generously heaped on top. 

We then went to a large shopping centre and a supermarket, where Ueuchi-san tried to explain what all the weird things were (anyone up for chikuwa?). 

I bought a bento for dinner and went home to try and heat it up in my microwave. I wasn't sure which button to press: 

I went for number 4, but I kept ready to turn it off, just in case it exploded...

Later on in the week, I was to learn of the awesome, destructive powers unleashed by microwaving the humble egg...

...stay tuned...

Tokyo to Hiroshima: Bullet Train!

I'm writing this over a week after it happened. I've been so busy!

At nine o'clock on Friday morning, I made my way to Tokyo Station with the other volunteers (who were going to Nagoya).

Tokyo Station is huge. With the largest number of platforms in Japan (about 10 of them alone being for bullet trains) it's easy to get lost. Luckily, we were with Tomoko, who showed us the right gate to go through.

But first we had to get lunch! There are stalls selling bento （弁当）(elaborate lunch boxes) which are known as Ekiben (駅弁) when you buy them at a station. (It combines the kanji for station and the first kanji in bento).

They're quite expensive (starting at around ￥1000) but they're definitely worth it. You can get all different types of bento, even ones that are self heating. I bought a 'Makunouchi Bento' before heading for the bullet train platforms.

Tokyo station is a terminus for the bullet trains, so everyone gets off and the train is cleaned by an army of workers in pink. They were pretty much standing at attention a few minutes before the train came in, just so that they could get on and off as fast as possible and keep the trains running immaculately on time.

The view coming out of Tokyo was amazing. Skyscrapers were whizzing past and I even caught a glimpse of Tokyo Tower, so I decided to film it. However, I didn't press the button properly so my camera was doing nothing for about 5 minutes as we were whisked through the heart of Tokyo (-_-) I'll have to retake it if I'm ever passing through that way again...

The staff were astonishingly polite. Whenever a woman selling food or a person checking tickets walked through the car, they would stop just before they went through the doors, turn around and do a very low bow.

My ekiben was delicious:

The box is divided into compartments for the different types of food. Of course, the largest compartment was for the ever ubiquitous rice. There were seeds of some sort artfully scattered on top with a very sour pickled plum (called umeboshi). The furthest compartment on the right had some salmon, a prawn, some breaded chicken (I think, I can't really remember) and the yellow thing is tamago, a Japanese style sweet omelette. The two smallest compartments contained various pickles (the white thing with holes in it is a lotus root) and the small white package in the right compartment had some sort of minced meat in it. 

I've never had food on a train that tasted this good. I've actually contemplated going to Hiroshima Station just to buy one of these; the price is the only thing holding me back!

We passed Mt Fuji, and although it wasn't a very clear day I got a photo.

I also took a short video. I pressed the button this time...

Make sure you watch it in HD

The other volunteers left at Nagoya, and I tried to sleep (I was still very jet lagged) but my nerves were getting worse by the minute. The two days in Tokyo were over; everyone was going off with their partners to where they would spend the next 6 months and I was all alone on a train hurtling towards a city I had only ever seen in pictures. 

How was I going to fare on my own? Will I be able to make any friends? Is someone going to try and make me sing karaoke!?!

All these questions and more were racing through my mind as I got off the train at Hiroshima. Ueuchi-san, a man who is responsible for my position at the hospital said he would be waiting on the platform for me, but I saw no one holding a sign with my name on it - just a lot of Japanese business men in suits. 

I made my way down the stairs from the platform and still I saw no one. I passed two women in grey uniforms with a red trim and they started frantically whispering to each other before walking further into the station, past me, and holding up a sign with a red cross on it. 

This was the first time I met Ohashi-san and Yoshimura-san. I went up to them:

初めまして、マシューといいます。Hajimemashite, Matthew to iimasu. (Pleased to meet you, I'm Matthew)

I was finally using Japanese in Japan. I realised this just as they introduced themselves to me, so I didn't catch their names. Lucky for me, Japanese people rarely address people using names (or ever the word for 'you') so it didn't matter. I asked again a little while later and I've now got a growing collection of names to memorise on my ipod.

We spoke in Japanese from there on as we made our way into the shopping complex above the station. I didn't understand a few of the things they said, and I wasn't sure why Ohashi-san kept wondering how to get to the roof. 

I was exhausted from jet lag and carrying my laptop and some bags and it was boiling hot. We got into a lift and at the next floor a group of school girls got on. They all kept looking at me and I heard one whispering 'kawaiiiii'. That's another thing I'd have to get used to, being  the only westerner and having blue eyes was starting to draw attention...

We got off the lift and it turned out there was a viewing platform on the roof, where I got my first view of Hiroshima.

The Mazda stadium; home to Hiroshima's baseball team the Toyo Carps

It's hard to imagine something so dreadful ever happened here. It just looks like a typical Japanese city with people jostling for space and the buildings growing ever higher. 

We then took a taxi to the hospital where I would be working for the next 6 months: the Atomic Bomb Survivors and Red Cross Hospitals (原爆者と赤十字病院　Genbakusha to Sekijyuuji byoin). 

I was taken to see the section chief for the volunteering department (Ueuchi-san). He was very warm and welcoming, and I was introduced to some of the nurses, but I can't remember any of their names! I didn't get a chance to write them down...

Yoshimura-san then went round the hospital with me, trying to find suitable places to take my picture.

After the picture with the woman at the temple in Harajuku, I went through a period of clasping my hands together without realising it. I think that was bad - I think it's what women do for formal photographs in Japan...

Afterwards, Yoshimura-san showed me to my apartment. It's in a building that also houses relatives of people staying in the hospital, so it's about a three minute walk away (give or take a few minutes for the traffic lights, which take an age to change).

Yoshimura gave me a 25 minute break (precisely) to rest and read the apartment rules before returning to the hospital.

That evening, I went out to a yakiniku restaurant with Ueuchi-san, Ohashi-san and Yoshimura-san. I forgot to take my camera, so I'll have to describe it instead.

We had to take our shoes off as we went in, and then the waitress offered us a table. But Ueuchi-san was very picky - he walked around looking at them all until he found an appropriate booth with sliding trellis doors made of wood (I realise now that he's always looking to make a restaurant outing with me as authentically Japanese as possible). The table and seats were sunk into the ground and when we were all seated the waitress moved the trellis, closing us in and making a gap at the end of the table where she knelt down to take our order. 

She then lit a stove, which was sunk into the middle of the table and had a circular grill. We each had tray, which had different compartments for various dipping sauces.You grill the meat and vegetables yourself. 

It was great, even with Rhianna singing 'Woah na na what's ma name?' in the background. 

I was already feeling at home. Everyone I met was so friendly, all my worries during the journey to Hiroshima had vanished and I had a great nights sleep and the best lie-in of my life.

Ikea Temples, Harajuku and Hachikou

View from the other side of the hostel

I woke up at 6 am on my second day in Tokyo (-_-) Long-distance plane travel really does mess with your body clock. 

The hostel is just above Iidebashi Station

We ate breakfast at the hostel: an eclectic mix of traditional Japanese food and western food. I tried natto for the first time! For those who don't know what natto is, it's fermented soya beans that you mix with a little bit of soy sauce and mix until it gets really gooey. It looks horrendous, but the taste is bearable. You can eat it on its own or on top of rice. 

I also had miso soup, salad, a fried egg and something else English but I can't remember what it was...

We then spent the morning being briefed by Tomoko on what to do if we get lost and what to do and expect when we arrive at our placements. There were two guest speakers from the UK who then told us about life in Japan and we all had to explain what we wanted to achieve by the end of the placement. I said that I wanted to improve my Japanese (and hopefully become fluent someday!), learn more about Japanese culture and see how the Japanese healthcare system works. I've had work experience in an NHS hospital, but Japan doesn't have a national health service; the government only pays about 30% of your medical fees.

Afterwards, we had a break for lunch in Shinjuku. I went to 7/11 (a convenience store) with two other volunteers (Jon and Zac), where I bought some Onigiri: rice triangles wrapped in seaweed sheets with a filling (one was tuna mayonnaise, the other was chicken). I also came across my first Japanese KitKat!

Matcha (green tea) flavour! The KitKat flavours in Japan range from soy sauce to hotcake (pancake). Most of them are only found in certain regions (Hiroshima is in the Chuugoku region, which is where the citrus blend flavour can be found). I also can't wait to try purple potato flavour and sweet corn flavour.

We also had some time to wander around. That was when we found the Ikea shrine...

The wood looked like it had come from one of the flat-pack Ikea furniture sets. I didn't expect to see a new temple like this, but Jon explained to me that in Shinto death is a taboo subject, so if a temple starts decaying you have to rebuild it (I think). 

Even though we were in central Tokyo, the hustle and bustle of the city seemed to melt away when we entered places like this.

After lunch, Tomoko took us to the Meiji shrine in Harajuku. It's a shrine dedicated to Emperor Meiji and Empress Shoken, and it's surrounded by dense forest and winding paths that go underneath 3 giant wooden Tori gates. 

I was really surprised to see all this woodland in the middle of Tokyo.

There was also a wall covered in sake kegs wrapped in straw and decorated. They're donated by members of the sake brewing industry as a sign of respect to to Emperor and Empress who did a lot to help Japanese industry during their reign. 

When we approached the main shrine, a Japanese man with a camera came up to us and said we had nice hair. We agreed to pose for him in front of the main shrine entrance:

Me, Samantha and Jon

He then let us take a picture of him striking a sort of heroic pose.

 This is what the main shrine looked like.

I didn't know what to do with my hands, so I ended up mirroring her. I think that was a bad idea; I've only seen Japanese women doing this and it's usually when they're trying to look feminine...

Afterwards, we went to the modern part of Harajuku; famous for its shopping and cosplay. I didn't see anyone doing cosplay, but apparently there are lots of teenagers doing it around the station on a Sunday.

Harajuku Station

Around here there was a sticker shop we went into where I had my first proper conversation in Japanese!! The girl working there was then showing me all the 'I Love Hiroshima' stickers and anything to do with the Hiroshima dialect. All the people working in shops are so much more friendly here than they are in the UK.

We then found our way to Shibuya, famous for it's pedestrian crossing (the busiest in the world).

We also found the Hachikou statue. Hachikou was a dog who went to Shibuya station everyday to meet his master on his way home. However, one day, his master died whilst at work. Because he never returned, Hachikou came to the same spot at the exact time every day without fail. People took pity on him and gave him food whilst he waited, and he became a national symbol for loyalty. He died after 9 years of waiting. 

There is a statue dedicated to him near the station entrance. It's now a common meeting place.

Evelyn, Jon, me and Lucy

This was my last day in Tokyo, but I'll definitely be coming back at some point. Even though I've seen so little of it, I love Tokyo and I can't wait to go back!

***I've updated the previous post. I've worked out how to put videos on this :P ***